WeRide boosts power of self driving sensor suite

  • June 20, 2022
  • William Payne

Chinese self-driving tech company WeRide has released a new generation of its sensor suite. The new suite, WeRide Sensor Suite 5.0 has been fully tested and has begun trial operation in the company’s Robotaxi fleet. WeRide sees its latest sensor suite accelerating the commercialisation of its Robotaxis with the ability to integrate with a range of different vehicle models at lower cost and greater speed.

WeRide SS 5.0 incorporates 12 cameras and 7 solid-state LiDARs, which constitute 6 sensor sets, installed at different locations of the car body. The autonomous driving (AD) sensor suite is integrated with the car, keeping the maximum shape of the car as original while achieving 360 degrees sensing capability.

Based on sufficient testing verification and solid support from strategic partners, WeRide has accumulated rich experience in applying solid-state LiDAR to Robotaxi, resulting in best-in-class solutions. WeRide SS 5.0 applies 7 automotive grade solid-state LiDARs located on the roof front, rear wing and around the body of the car, reducing dramatically the size of the suite and delivering better reliability.

Among them, the Roof Front Sensor Set is equipped with three solid-state LiDARs, 5 mid-range cameras and 2 long-range cameras, avoiding the bulky shape of multi sensor suites. The Rear Wing Sensor Set is equipped with one solid-state LiDAR and one mid-range camera, which is hidden in the body of the car, providing rear sensing and complementing the Roof Front Sensor Set. The Blind Spot Sensor Set around the car is composed of multiple blind spot LiDARs and fisheye cameras.

With further optimisation of the compute platform, WeRide SS 5.0 can run stably on a range of compute capability from 250 to 500 TOPS, achieving lower power consumption and higher performance than its predecessors.

WeRide SS 5.0 provides a perception radius of over 200 metres across 360° of the vehicle. Compared with WeRide’s previous sensor suite, the size and weight of WeRide SS 5.0 is reduced with the height of the Roof Front Sensor Set shorter by 66%, the thickness reduced by 15% and the overall weight 17% less.